Grease gun



C. G. BUTLER GREASE GUN Filed Nov. 25, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY.,

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Dec. l0, 'E935 Dec., MD, i935..

c. G. BUTLER GREAS E GUN Filed Nov. 23, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTO RN EY INVENTOR @ma n Patented Dec. 10, 1935 ilhll'l'ED STATES PATENT OFFICE' GREASE GUN Application November 23, 1933, Serial No. 699,417

16 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of lubrication and is particularly directed to improvements in lubricating apparatus of the character known as hand guns. These grease guns are relatively small and portable for convenience in applying them to the points or ttings to be lubricated. Some means is provided for moving the grease to the icrward end of the gun or the discharge head thereof. The head includes a nozzle and a grease ejecting piston with actuating means therefor. For the purpose of illustrating the present imi. ovements they are disclosed in relation to the type ci gun described and claimed in the appli- Clyde G. Butler, filed February 20, 1933, Sellem. N0.

In the mentioned application the gun includes the grease ejecting piston movable in a cylinder in which the grease intake opening is arranged for passage or" grease into the cylinder bore when the piston is retracted. The structure includes a check valve located in the discharge nozzle permitting ejection of grease but closing upon the retractive stroke of the piston.

In the iield oi lubrication by means of hand guns, there are two general classes of grease service to be rendered. The first includes the .pplication ci grease to ttings of which there are several types. One type is known as the butt type to which grease is supplied merely by placing the nozzle thereagainst and holding the gun in position by a physical force applied on the gun. Another type is known as the pin type which may include any type of coupling means, whereby the discharge tube is iiXed in place on the tting and need not be pressed thereagainst by the operator to maintain a loading seal. In the rst instance the discharge tube is rigid or of lance type and in the second a flexible or rubber tubing may be used.

The second class of service is that wherein the gun is used for the insertion of grease into transmission casings etc., wherein for example an oil nozzle tube may be used, insertable into the plug hole of a transmission casing. These two classes of service require the application oi the grease under different pressures as high pressure in the rlrst class and low pressure in the second class.

The purpose of this invention is to provide for the adaptability of hand guns to these diiierent classes or" servicing problems. Accordingly, it is the object or" this invention to provide an improved nozzle for this type of gun including a valve, which is controlled by particular types of service connections attached to the nozzle. That is to say, it has been provided in the present case that the operator may by attachment of a rigid lance, oil nozzle, or flexible tube, automatically condition the gun for diierent classes of services having different pressure and volume requirements.

In this adaptation of the gun to certain uses, it is arranged that the dispensing connections used with the ttings such as the butt type and the pin type will operate the valve in the nozzle to maintain it normally in closed position Where it will open only to the discharge operations of the grease ejecting piston. In other types oi service such as supplying grease to a grease compartment, it is arranged that the discharge connection will operate the valve for placing it in normally open position so that upon retraction ci the piston the grease can flow freely through, the nozzle.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved nozzle for a grease gun which is automatically closed when the discharge tubes are disconnected therefrom, so that it is impossible for the operator to cause grease loss by detaching the discharge tubes without regard to the position of the discharge mechanism.

Other objects and further advantages will be more fully apparent from adescription of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a'longitudinal sectional View of a grease gun illustrating the present improvements 3o embodied therein.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional View taken from Figure 1 for detailing the nozzle valve structure. Y

Figure Bis a sectional View taken on line 3--3, 35 Figure l, illustrating the operating connection to the discharge piston.

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken on line 4-il, Figure 1, illustrating the intake ports to the cylinder.

Figure 5 is a sectional View of the forward or nozzle end of the gun showing a rigid tube or lance attached thereto for supplying the grease to the butt type fitting.

Figure 6 is a view taken similar to Figure 5, 45 illustrating a flexible tube connected to the nozzle for the application of the grease to a pin type fitting.

Figure 7 is a view taken similar to Figure 5, illustrating an oil or grease flow tube attached to the nozzle for free flow of grease from the gun into a grease compartment.

Referring to the drawing, the gun structure to which the present improvements are applied incorporates the following structure. A barrel or traverses.

cylinder IIJ forms the body of the gun. A forward head II is screwed on the barrel including the grease ejecting piston I2 and cylinder I3 and mounting the discharge nozzle or fitting I4. A rear closure head I5 is provided. A follower plate or piston I 6 is mounted in the cylinder and may be moved forwardly by means of air pressure introduced through a valve il in the rear closure head. `A lpiston retracting rod I8 is mounted axially through the barrel being supported in the follower plate at its forward end and in the rear closure plate at its rear end. A stock I9 is fixed on the rear outwardly extended end of the rod for manipulation of the rod and gun and application of pressure'longitudinally of the gun for holding the gun on the fitting as in the case of a butt type fitting. l

The piston rod is headed atits inner end for engaging and retracting the piston which it The stock is screwed into the cylinder closure for convenient detachment where it is desirable to retract the piston as in loading operations.

The sliding' engagement of the rod I8 through the rear closure cap is sealed by means of a pack- Ving gland 20 screwed into the cap. The follower plateis slidable on the rod and for this reason incorporates suitable packing `2I to prevent grease flow along the rod into theair chamber. Reversely facing cup gaskets 22 are incorporated in the follower platepr piston for engaging'the lylinder or barrel wall. The follower plate is` fabricated for assembling these parts in a previously disclosed manner which it is notl deemed necessary to describe here. Y

The forward ordischarge head II has a passageway 23 therein extended forwardly from the supply barrel. This passageway is alongside of the piston IZ'and extends laterally at its forward en d communicating with 'the' bore of the cylinder I3 through radial apertures 24 of the cylinder.

The piston has its forward portion disposed in the cylinderrelement I3 screwed into the forward end of the gun and has its rear end slidably supported in a lugj25 of the forward-casing. The intermediate portion of thev pistonr is exteriorly disposed across a'depressed or recessed portion 25 of the forward cap orrclosure. 'An operating lever 2l is pivoted on a cross pinltraversing this recess'b-etween the bottom ofr the recess and the piston. The lever 2l is projected laterally and `is curved rearwardly. The lever is flexiblyconfnected to the piston vby means of pivot pins 29 carrying pivot blocks 3E! engaged in opposite'sides of an annularfgroo'vel in 'the piston, the lever straddling the piston forthis purpose. The general swing or range of operative movement of the lever lin the ejecting stroke is forward or'flengthwise of the gun structure. When in retracted position, the lever lies fairly close to thebody of the guni j Asstated, lthe cylinder element has radial ports entering its bore just in front of the piston when the pistonis in retractedposition. The nozzle or discharge fitting I4 of the gun consists of a cylindrical ,element screwed into a screw-threaded enlarged `bore portion in ythe forward end of` the cylinder Aagainst a packing washer 32 lying against the shoulder between `therespectivev bore portions ofthe cylindenf'this washer being boredy and counterbored to provide an outwardly-facing valve seat 33, Another Vvalve seat 34 ,Yopp"o`singthe seat 33; is provided by` a shoulder between a reduced bore portion of the fitting and the valve chamber bore thereof.

for contact "with the butt `type fitting.

A fabricated double valve unit 35 is incorporated in the nozzle element. One valve element of this Valve unit comprises a cylindrical headed slidably mounted part 33. The headed or inner end or" this part lies against the seat S4 formed by bore reduction in the nozzle. The outer end of the element is slidably mounted in the reduced bore portion and carries a cup shaped packing 3l in a counterturned annular recess in its outer face, the flange of the packing lying against the bore of the nozzle. This part Ill is closed at its inner end and has a bore or passageway 3S projected outwardly through radial slots 33 adjacent the valve head thereof.

A ystud 40 is extended axially from the inner end gof this element, this stud slidably supporting a ball valve carrying sleeve 6I, the ball valve i2 being'secured in the inner end of the sleeve by swaging the end of the sleeve about the ball. The stud includes a diametrically xed cross pin E3 extended into an enlarged counterbored portionl at the inner end of the sleeve so that inward displacement of the sleeve from the stud is prohibited. This ball valve is supported adjacent the seat 33 5in the washer previously described, or in other'vvords, controls the initial exit of the Two springs are employed, one 451 of which is under compression between the head of the first mentioned valve part S5 and the valve seat washbore portion 4l adapted to be screwed on the outer end of the nozzle and includes a circular axiallydis'posed lug portion i8 projected from the base of the bore portion. The circular lugs are 'of a diameter snugly tting into the bore of the nozzle and engaging against the valve unit. These circular lugs are of different heights, de-

pending upon l'the position of the valve unit desired for thejparticularv connection or service. The utili-ty ofY the valve unit in the automatic change-over' for control of thegrease gun will be apparent from the following description of the eiect and function of these various discharge connections.

'Inf Figure 5 Ithe,rigid-lance typeof discharge connection is 5"forniedf of a-'piece of tubing li carrying the'above described'coupling il at its inner end and a butt element 59 at -its outer end In the case of thistype of'discharge connection, the lug 48 is of jrelatively considerable height, and is Veffective whenthe coupling is attached for slidably moving the valve unit for* completely'unseating'the outer valve elementi and seating the 1inner valve element 132 slightly compressing the innei Valve control spring c5' softhat a spring urged valve contact'is accomplished. lAccordingly,'the valve 52 becomes'a check valve and the grease discharge piston will unseat the valve on its discharge Astrokes and the valvewill seat on the retraction strokes.

In the instance ofFigur'e" 6, a flexible hose connection Eiis shown carrying a coupling 54 in its outer end for attachment to the pin type fitting.

The lug 48 is of the same height as that described in the preceding view so that the same control of the valve unit is provided.

Figure 7 illustrates the alternate position of the valve unit for what is known as free flow. In this case the discharge connection is in the form of a curved tube 5E having a valve 53 at its outer end adapted for use in lling grease compartments. The lug d3 is of less height than the lug in the preceding two forms and accordingly the valve unit is moved a less distance by coupling. Both valves of the unit remain unseated so that the valve unit is entirely ineffective when this type of connection is being used and the grease will flow through under low pressure when the piston i2 is retracted beyond the inlet ports 24.

t will be noted from the detailed View Figure 2 that the valve unit is normally urged outwardly by means of spring @Li for seating the outer valve element when no connection is being used. Therefore, there is no opportunity for grease loss when a connection is no-t in place or when the connections are being unscrewed.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1.In a grease discharge device, a discharge nozzle having opposing valve seats therein, a compound valve disposed between said seats, said compound Valve constituting valve elements unitarily mounted and relatively movable, the maximum spacing of said valve elements being less than the distance between said seats, and spring means for normally urging said valve unit against the outer of said valve seats.

2. In a grease gun, a grease discharge means, including a piston, a nozzle for said means including opposing seats, a valve device movable between said seats, including spaced valve elements cooperating with the respective valve seats, yieldable means normaliy spacing said valve elements, and yieldable means for urging said valve device outwardly seating the outer` valve element thereof and unseating the inner valve element thereof.

3. In a grease gun, a grease discharge head including a passageway; a piston in said passageway, a valve unit in front of said piston, a grease inlet to said passageway between the valve unit and said piston when the piston is retracted, said passageway including opposing seats and said valve unit including valves spaced apart a distance less than the distance between said seats, and yieldable means normally spreading said valves apart and alternately engageable with said seats or between said seats and the inner valve acting as a check valve when engaged on the inner seat.

4. In a grease gun discharge means including a high pressure discharge cylinder having an outlet passageway and a piston in said cylinder, a discharge nozzle having opposing valve seats and communicating with said outlet passageway, a compound valve mounted in said nozzle and including yieldably spaced valve elements alternately cooperating with lsaid opposing seats, means for limiting the spacing of said valve elements to a maximum distance less than the spacing of said opposing valve seats, and a discharge connection, said nozzle including means for receiving said discharge connection, said connection operating said compound valve for moving said valve relative to said seats for controlling the grease discharge.

5. In a grease gun, a low pressure grease feeding means, a high pressure grease discharge means, a discharge fitting having a passageway in communication with said grease feeding and discharge means, said fitting including opposing seats, a spring pressed valve element slidably mounted in said fitting and normally engageable with the outer of said seats, a second spring pressed valve element slidably mounted on the rst valve element and normally urged away from said rst valve element and cooperative with the inner of said valve seats, said valve elements alternately seated, a discharge connector for actuating said Valve elements b-y contact with the first element, and means on the discharge fitting for attaching said discharge connection thereto.

6. In a grease discharge device, a discharge nozzle having opposing valve seats therein, low pressure grease forcing means urging the grease through said nozzle, high pressure grease forcing means for u rging the grease through said nozzle, a compound valve disposed between said valve seats, said compound valve including coaxially movable valve elements, spring means for spreading said valve elements, spring means for urging the compound valve toward the outer seat, a discharge conduit, and means on said conduit for attaching said nozzle thereto, said conduit having a device therein for moving the compound valve relative to said seats.

7. In a grease discharge device, a discharge nozzle having opposing valve seats therein, a valve unit disposed between said seats, said valve unit incorporating yieldably spaced valve eiements respectively cooperating with said seats, the maximum spacing of said valve elements being less than the distance between said seats, spring means for normally urging said valve unit against the outer of said valve seats, and a discharge tube attachable to said nozzle and including a device for controlling the position of said valve units relative to said seats.

8. In a grease gun discharge means including a high pressure discharge cylinder having a single outlet passageway, a piston in said cylinder and low pressure means for forcing grease to said cylinder; a discharge nozzle communieating with the single outlet passageway, a cornpound valve device in said nozzle closing to discharge pressures in one position and acting as a check valve in an alternate position, and a discharge connection, said nozzle including means for receiving said discharge connection, said connection operating said valve device and controlling the grease discharge.

9. In a grease gun, a grease discharge means, a discharge fitting having a single passageway in communication with said grease discharge means, said fitting including opposing seats, a spring pressed valve element slidably mounted in said fitting and normally engageable with the outer of said seats, a second spring pressed valve element slidably mounted on the rst valve element and normally urged away from said first valve element and cooperative with the inner valve seat, said valve elements spaced apart a distance less than the distance between the seats, a discharge connector including an axial extension for actuating said valve elements by contact with the rst element, and means on the fitting for attaching said discharge connection.

10. In a grease gun, a grease discharge means including a cylinder and a piston therein, a discharge nozzle for said grease discharge means including opposing seats, a valve unit movable between said seats, said valve unit including spaced valve elements cooperating with the respective valve seats, a spring for normally spreadingsaid valves, means for 'limiting the spreadingmovement of said valves, whereby the -maximum distance between the valves is less than the distance between; said seats, `andvspring -means for urging said valve unitoutwardly for vseating the outer valve element thereof, said -valve unit being eiectivefor sealing the discharge nozzle against leakage and unseated vupon insertion of a coupling.

11. In aY grease gun, a grease discharge means lincluding a piston, a nozzle for said meansin- -cluding opposing seats, a valve device,m0vable `between `saidseats includingspaced valve ele- -ments cooperating with the ,respective 4valve seats, yieldable means normally spacing said valve elements, yieldable means ior,.urging said valve device outwardly` for seating the outer valve element thereof,l and ,unseating the inner valve elementihereo and means for interchangeably attaching ,discharge tubes to said nozzle, each of; said discharge tubes eiective for operating said Valve device, one thereof unseatingfthe--outer valve element and seating the inner'vvalvef element thereof, and the other effective. -forpositioningsaid valve device intermediate of-saidseats.

12. In a-grease gun, a 10W pressure grease supply means, a high'pressure cylinder in communication Withsaid supply means, a piston in said cylinder, means for operating the piston, a discharge head 'for saidv cylinder including a valve seat, a yieldably mounted. valve disposed in said discharge head normally spaced from said seat, a conduit including means for engaging said valve on the seatwhereby it opens against spring pressure toA permit high pressure grease discharge,A and means for detachably mountingi said conduiton said head.

13. In a grease gun, a low pressure grease supply means,.a high :pressure cylinder in communicationY with saidrsupply means, a piston in `said cylinder, means for operating the piston and retracting it to a pointy where the grease can ow from the supply means into the cylinder, a discharge head for said cylinder including a valve seat, a spring urged Valve normally in contact-with saidseat, a conduit including a valve on its outer end and having a portion for, unseating saidrvalve, and means forA detachably mounting;y said conduit on said head, whereby grease can flow through said headinto said conduit under low pressure vfrom said supply means when 4saidipiston ;is retracted.

14. In ,ai grease gunnofthe character disclosed,

fa; grease supply means;A including a low pressure grease forcing device; therein, a discharge head spring means normally valve 4;in;tl"1e disc harge passageway, and means 15 for detachably securing said nozzle extension to the nozzle.

y15. In agrease gun of the character disclosed, a grease supply means including a 10W pressure `grease forcing device therein, a discharge head therefor having a nozzle, a discharge passagel Way-connecting said nozzle and said grease supply means, said nozzle and passageway respectivelyincludinggvalve seats, said seats facing each other, a valve for each seat, said valves mounted for unitary movement l and spring urged aparta-a nozzle extension including a projection eiective for unseatingl the nozzle valve and ineiiective for seating the valve in the passageway,

vsaid nozzle extension including a valve on its outer end, and means for attaching said nozzle `extension-in position on said nozzle, whereby free ow of grease through the passageway,

r`nozzle, and extension can occur when the nozzle extension is in position and the valve therein in open position.

f 16. Inagrease discharge means, a high pressure discharge cylinder having a single outlet Apassageway therethrough, a piston in said cylinjder,y lowV pressure means for forcing grease into saidrcylinder, said piston retractable to a posivtion permitting flow of grease into the cylinder from the low pressure means, a discharge nozzle vcommunicating with 4the single outlet passageway, .a compound valve device in said nozzle closedtodischarge pressure in one position and acting as acheck Valvein an alternate position, a. discharge conduit, and means for attaching v.said-conduit to said nozzle, said conduit in- Icluding. -means for. operating said valve device for controlling its position.

CLYDE G. BUTLER. 

